E184 
.G3C8 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



DDQDEbHbbVS 



9^ .»^ 



.V 






Wo i*^ Vl, 






a> ^<» 











"^^ o ° " • • *<>^ 







.^^ 
















o_ * 















* • , O ' 4^0 ^^ * • , 1 • O,^ O. * • » O ' .O 



























v^P^;*' . 











. "t. 



.^. 






4 V V 



-5-- _ V. ■ 




















v>Vo-n.oa-c ^ 1 VajujLo-^- 



Our Hyphenated Citizens 



ARE THEY RIGHT OR WRONG? 
SHOULD THEY BE ALLOWED 
TO STAY, OR SHOULD THEY BE 
DEPORTED, OR CONFINED IN 
DETENTION CAMPS? 



Single Copies 


10 cents 


10 


- $1. 


100 


$6. 


1000 


$50. 



RUDOLF CRONAU, Publisher 

340 EAST 198th ST., NEW YORK. 



COPYRIGHT 1915 by RUDOLF CRONAU 

(All rights reserved) 

WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR 

America, the history of its discovery from ancient to the 
present times. (2 Vol. Leipzig, 1890-92.) 

America, historia de su descubrimiento desde los tiempos 
primitivos hasta los mas modernos. (3 Vol. Barcelona, 
1892.) 

From Wonderland to Wonderland, sketches of American 
Sceneries and Life. (2 Vol. Leipzig, 1886.) 

In the Wild West. Tales of an Artist. (Braunschweig, 1890.) 

Three Centuries of German Life in America. (Berlin, 1909.) 

Our Wasteful Nation. The Story of American Prodigality 
and the Abuse of Our National Resources. (New 
York, 1908.) 

The British Black Book. (New York, 1915.) 

Illustrative Cloud Forms for the Guidance of Observers in 
the Classification of Clouds. (U. S. publication No. 
112. Washington, D. C, 1897.) 

Travels in the Lands of the Sioux Indians. (Leipzig, 1886.) 

Geschichte, Wesen und Praxis der Reklame. (Ulm, 1887.) 

Geschichte der Solinger Klingenindustrie. (Stuttgart, 1885.) 



ICI.A416801 It r 










Our Hyphenated Citizens. 



BY RUDOLF CRONAU. 



The dreadful catastrophe, which has befallen the European 
nations and plunged them into death, misery and endless diffi- 
culties, has brought also many grave calamities for our United 
States. 

Her commerce with numerous European countries, even 
neutral ones, has been interrupted or destroyed; whole indus- 
tries are being throttled ; and hundreds of thousands of striving 
and assiduous men are without work and unable to keep 
want and distress, those unwelcome visitors, from the door. 

The gravest of all injuries is, however, that the grim conflict 
between the European nations has also spread to our shores, 
and has divided the nation into antagonistic camps, hot against 
each other and involved in the war itself, in impulse and 
opinion. 

Foreseeing such calamity, President Wilson sent a special 
message to the people of the United States soon after the 
outbreak of the war, counseling that every one should speak 
and act in the true spirit of neutrality, which is the 
spirit of impartiality and fairness to all concerned. 

To impress this message as strongly as possible on the 
whole nation, the President, furthermore, ordered, that the 
fourth day of October should be spent in prayer and supplica- 
tion for a speedy end of the bloodshed and woe. ^ 

But the result of this recommendation was, as all true 
Americans must admit, disheartening. The message was 
nothing but "another scrap of paper," which remained 
unheeded and was forgotten soon after it had been printed 
and read. 

The first who disregarded it and the grave responsibility 
they owe to society as well as to the nation, were the editors 
of many of those papers, that constitute our American press. 



Ignoring the fact that the people of the United States are 
drawn from many nations and that, therefore, impartiality 
and fairness to all concerned should be strictly observed; 
ignoring the fact, that Germany, since the establishment of 
the United States, has, during the most critical times, always 
acted as her true and unselfish friend, they displayed at once 
an exceedingly hostile attitude toward everything German. 

To observers, having a deeper insight into the state of 
affairs, this phenomenon was no surprise. Just as the British 
Cabinet had been for years making careful plans and prep- 
arations to isolate and destroy Germany, so it had also taken 
steps, to secure for England and her prospective allies the 
sentiment of all other nations, especially America, well know- 
ing that the sympathy of this great and wealthy country 
would be much more valuable than several army corps. 
Therefore, whenever leading positions became vacant on 
the staff of an influential American paper, these places were 
in some way or other secured for such editorial writers and 
press-Cossacks, on whose loyalty and obedience the British 
Governmient could rely. Long before the first gun was fired 
in the great European conflict, these skirmishers were at 
work, concocting all kinds of stories, invented to instil the 
unthinking masses of the American people with prejudice, 
distrust and hate toward everything German. Again and 
again it was asserted that German greed, sneering at th^ 
Monroe Doctrine, was about to annex the richest parts of 
the West Indies, Central and South America ; furthermore, 
that Germany was making ready for sudden invasions of 
"dear Motherland," England, as well as of the United States, 
and that her naval officers were inspiring themselves for 
these adventures with the ominous toast, "To the day !" 

This systematic and persistent poisoning of public opinion 
reached unheard of proportions, when the long expected war 
broke out. No longer restraining their passions, these British 
intriguers branded the German nation as well as the German 
Emperor as the great malefactors, guilty of the appalling 
conflagration now raging, and upon whom the curse of all 
humanity should fall! The meanest and most absurd stories 
of alleged German atrocities, invented by hired fiction writers 
and hysterical women, were spread broadcast in glaring 
headlines, in a manner so abusive that, as an American stated, 
"it would be open to criticism even if America herself were 
engaged in a war with Germany!" 

All these malicious fabrications, a number of which have 
been exposed in my "British Black Book," had a most 



deplorable effect on many Americans, especially on those 
who have never been abroad and whose knowledge of 
European conditions and affairs is very vague. 

Among such persons were thousands of clergymen, pro- 
fessors, teachers, legislators and others, who, believing in 
the fiendish stories and in the dreadful danger of "German 
militarism," saw in their disturbed minds the endless hordes 
of "German Huns" already marching into America and the 
ghost of "Militarism" hovering over all our hills and valleys. 

Stirred by trembling fright and holy wrath, they joined 
in the anti-German crusade and filled the hearts of their 
fellow citizens with contempt and hatred for all things 
German. 

To give a very recent example of the base insults heaped 
upon the German nation, I will reproduce here a few lines, 
penned by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, an American 
authoress. In her story "The Three Things," published in 
the "Ladies* Home Journal" for November, 1915, she has 
a young American say: "Neutral! When it means civiliza- 
tion against barbarism! Gentlemen against Huns! English- 
men and Frenchmen whom we know for straight and clean, 
against the unspeakable German! From the Kaiser down, 70 
million of canaille; a nation of vulgarians .... a beastly 
swarm of day-laborers, the whole lot, high and low .... I must 
go and whack at these canting hounds, who are wiping out 
little Belgium .... the Germans are a nation of swine !...." 

Supposing some degraded person should dare to insult the 
American nation with such vulgarities, what would Americans 
do? Most probably they would provide the culprit, man or 
woman, with a coat of tar and feathers, and certainly they 
would stop reading a journal, which claims devotion to the 
interests of the gentler sex, but opens its columns to such 
language, which is anything but ladylike. 



The Harmless Hyphen, 
and How It Was Misused 

The vicious insults, heaped upon everything German, pro- 
duced in the United States just that effect which President 
Wilson and other intelligent observers had suspected. The 
nation, the various elements of which had so far worked 
together in full harmony, respecting each other, was divided 
in discordant groups. 

As could not otherwise be expected, the German-Americans, 
just as proud of the history, beauty, culture and high position 
of Germ.any, as are the Anglo-Americans of their motherland, 
protested against the calumniation of the land of their birth 
and their fathers; against the slandering of the Em.peror, 
whom they respect as the highest and noblest representative 
of the German nation; and against the detraction of the 
brave German army, in whose ranks they know their own 
fathers, brothers, and friends to be fighting in defense of their 
families and the destiny of their nation. 

To repel these unjustifiable anti-German attacks and to 
make their misinformed fellow-citizens acquainted with the 
true conditions of Germany and the true causes of the unholy 
war, they arranged mass-meetings and established literary 
defense committees, which distributed such literature, giving 
the German views of the causes of the war. In doing this 
the German-Americans performed not only a duty to them- 
selves and to the country of their origin, but, at the same 
time, a far greater one toward the land of their choice, the 
United States, which they are trying to save from a serious 
danger into which it might be thrown by a combination of 
British Tories, a pro-British press, a wavering Government 
of pro-British neutrality, misguided ministers and professors, 
and a duped and incited population. 

This propaganda of enlightenment, carried on by the 
German-Americans with great success, provoked, however, 
the furious wrath of the British press-gang as well as that 
of those Americans, who have already been imbyed with anti- 
Teuton feeling to such a degree, that they stubbornly decline 
to listen to anything which "the other side" might have to say. 

Among the principal representatives of the latter class, we 
find the President Emeritus of Harvard University, Dr. Chas. 
William Eliot, who in 1913 praised German civilization to 



the skies, but now leads in the agitation to poison the Amer- 
ican mind against Germany and the Germans, 

Into the same class with Eliot belongs — I am sorry to 
say — Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt. Having posed in 
former years as an ardent friend and admirer of Germany 
and the Emperor, he now, for political reasons and for the 
sake of his own prospects, found it expedient to join the 
chorus of those who express their anti-German feelings in 
red-hot speeches and black printers' ink. If I am not mistaken 
it was Mr. Roosevelt who coined the phrase "hyphenated v 
Americanism," the suggestive term, that has lately so 
alarmed and menaced our population. 

The hyphen! — For centuries it had led a harmless existence. 
It was used to connect two words, which combined, give 
something of the significance of each. So for instance in 
the words Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, German-American, 
Irish-American, Afro-American, combinations, which indicate 
the origin of various elements of our population. 

Now Mr, Roosevelt, or whoever is responsible for the phrase 
"hyphenated Americanism," made the astonishing discovery, 
that the hyphen, if bridging the words Anglo-Saxon or Anglo- 
American, is all right, but in the term German-American 
all wrong. 

The German hyphen is denounced like a poisonous germ, 
producing in those unfortunate beings, who by accident of 
birth are inoculated by it, a dreadful malady, manifesting 
itself by the duplicity and faithlessness of the stricken ones 
toward the United States. As this "Hyphenitis" mJght be 
contagious, it would be for the best of the country, to bundle 
all "Hyphenates" out of the country or herd them in deten- 
tion camps. 

Such suggestions have been made by several pro-British 
papers, as the "New York Herald" and the "New York 
Times," which constantly seek to impress their readers, that 
all naturalized citizens of German birth or parentage, -who 
sympathize with the Kaiser, are traitors to the United States 
and have no right to claim America as their country. 

As many quack-doctors fall victims to germs by careless 
handling, so the discoverers of the German hyphen, by its 
excessive manipulating, became infested with the "hyphen- 
itis," which affected their memory and blurred their judgment. 
All, what in former times they had spoken and written in 
praise of their "dear German brethren and fellow-citizens," 
when they needed their votes ; everything they had proclaimed 



in flattering toasts about the glory of the German Empire 
and its Emperor, the "Prince of Peace" ; all they had said 
about the magnitude of the German culture, was forgotten. 
AH recollections of happy days and the generous hospitality 
they had enjoyed in German homes and palaces, vanished. 
And instead of those refined Germans whom for their cheer- 
fulness and harmless pleasures they had joined in merry 
songs, their disturbed brains saw only hideous visions of 
such detestable Huns, as Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews 
conjured for the fair readers of the "Ladies' Home Journal." 



The Record of the German-Americans 

"Dear is my Country; dearer still is Liberty; dearest 
of all is Truth!" 

This was the inspiring motto of Franz Lieber, one of the 
greatest of Americans, a German hyphenated by accident of 
birth. And another great German-American, Carl Schurz, 
bequeathed us a toast, which deserves its immortal place 
beside it: "Our Country! When right, keep it right; 
when w^rong, set it right!" 

To set right the false impressions about the German element 
in the United States and to counteract the evil doings of 
those selfish agitators and demagogues who are responsible 
for the destruction of harmony in our nation, is the purpose 
of this pamphlet. 

It aspires to bring about a better comprehension of the 
position of the Germans in America, a weighty task, inasmuch 
as the majority of Americans know little more about their 
German fellow-citizens than that they brought the lagerbeer, 
sauerkraut, frankfurters and delicatessen stores into this 
country with them. Ignorant of the fact, that the Germans 
were among the first immigrants in America and that they 
have taken an active part in our public and political life, 
great masses of Americans — especially those, who consider 
themselves as citizens of the "original stock" and the only 
true inheritors of the land and its principles, — are inclined 
to treat them as citizens of a second class, as newcomers, 
with doubtful or no rights at all on American soil. 

8 



Ahead of the Pilgrims. 

It will be a surprise for such readers to learn, that long 
before the Pilgrim Fathers thought of emigrating to Amer- 
ica, Germans had already landed in several parts of the New 
World. At the same time when the British "Heroes of the 
Sea," "the Hawkins, Drake, Cavendish, Morgan and others, 
were engaged in abominable slave trade and in plundering 
the Spanish Colonies, numerous German mechanics, artisans, 
traders and miners busied themselves with all kinds of use- 
ful work. 

As early as 1538, Johann Cromberger, a German printer, 
established a printing office in the City of Mexico, and we 
know from the colonial history of Venezuela, that the German 
explorers, who came to that country in 1528 to 1546, brought 
fifty miners and a printing press with them. 

Soon after Henry Hudson had discovered the noble river 
which now bears his name, a German, Hendrick Christiansen 
of Kleve, became the true explorer of that stream. Attracted 
by its beauty and grandeur, he undertook eleven expeditions 
to its shores. He also built the first houses on Manhattan 
Island in 1613 and laid the foundations of the trading stations 
New Amsterdam and Fort Nassau. In what light Christian- 
sen was regarded by his contemporaries, may be learned from 
a passage in the "Historisch Verhael" of the Dutch chronicler 
Nicolas Jean de Wassenaer, who wrote: "New Netherland 
was first explored by the honorable Hendrick Christiansen 
of Kleve Hudson, the famous navigator, v/as also there." 

A few years after Christiansen had been killed by an Indian, 
another German, Peter Minnewit or Minuit, a native of Wesel, 
became Director-General of New Netherlands. It was he who 
closed that memorable bargain with the Manhattan Indians, 
in 1626, by v/hich, in exchange for some trinkets amounting 
to 60 guilders or $24, Manhattan Island became the property 
of the Dutch. Minnewit also erected a fortification upon 
the southernmost point of the island, and developed the colony 
successfully. Later this energetic man became the first direc- 
tor of New Sweden, a Swedish colony at the mouth of the 
Delaware. When he perished in a West Indian hurricane, 
a German nobleman, Johann Printz von Buchau, became 
his successor, and made during his regime, which lasted from 
1643 to 1654, the colony a great success. 

Germans the First Promoters of American Liberty. 

After New Sweden and New Netherland had been captured 
by the English, Jacob Leisler, a native of Frankfurt-on-the- 



Main, became the most renowned person in the colonies dur- 
ing that stormy period, in which the crown of England passed 
from the Catholic King James II. to the Protestant William 
III. In the turmoil, caused in the colonies by this change, 
Leisler, one of the most popular citizens, was elected as a 
temporary governor by the people of New York, to hold the 
colony for the new king. In this capacity, he called together 
the first Congress of the American colonies to resist the 
French, who had made three assaults upon the British 
colonies and burned Schenectady. The Congress met on May 
1, 1690, and decided to gather an army of 850 men and 1600 
Mohawk Indians to attack Canada, while, at the same time, 
a fleet of 35 vessels should enter the St. Lawrence River to 
bombard Quebec. 

With these acts, Leisler awoke that sense of common 
interest among the colonists, which increased in time, and 
finally culminated in the Continental Congress of 1776. A 
fearless defender of the people's rights against the impudence 
of the aristocrats and the oppressions of the Government, 
he was brought to trial as a demagogue and hanged by his 
enemies in 1691, the first martyr in the long struggle of 
the American people for liberty. 

Nine years after Leisler's death, a young German Palatine, 
Peter Zenger, arrived in New York. After serving as an 
apprentice and assistant to William Bradford, the famous 
printer, Zenger established a printing office of his own and 
published the "New York Weekly Journal," which very 
soon made itself offensive to the Authorities, as all question- 
able acts of the Government were severely criticized. As a 
warning, several issues of the "Journal" were confiscated and 
publicly burned by the hangman; Zenger, however, fearlessly 
continued his criticisms. Later, when thrown into prison, he 
became the hero of a trial, by which one of the highest priv- 
ileges of our nation — the freedom of the press — was 
established in America. 

That the Germans were opposed to oppression in any form, 
they again proved in 1688, when the founders of Germantown, 
Pa., Mennonites from the lower Rhine, delivered the first 
MTritten protest against slavery. The language of this docu- 
ment, with which these sectarians set an everlasting monu- 
ment to themselves, was most convincing and in such strong 
terms, that the Quakers of Pennsylvania, to whom it was 
addressed, did not dare to take any action on this question. 

The Germans were also among the first to protest against 

10 



the selfish acts of the British Government toward the colonies, 
and when the War for Independence broke forth, they accom- 
plished many acts of highest patriotism and bravery. In front 
of the City Hall in Philadelphia, as well as in the Hall of 
Fame of the Capitol in Washington, are statues of Peter 
Muehlenberg, a Lutheran minister, who, when the war clouds 
began to gather, preached to his community on the duties of 
a good citizen toward his country. Explaining that there 
is a time for praying and preaching as well as for fighting, 
he raised his voice and exclaimed: "The time for fighting 
has come!" And therewith he threw off his priestly garment 
and stood in the pulpit in the uniform of an American army 
officer. Inspired by his example, 300 m.en of his community 
registered as soldiers. For his gallant service Muehlenberg 
became one of the most noted generals and the confidential 
friend of Washington. 

In the Mohawk Valley two imposing obelisks mark the 
graves of Nicholas Herchheimer (Herkimer) and his brave 
Palatines, who fought the battle of Oriskany in 1777, the 
most murderous skirmish of the whole War for Independence. 
Of the 700 Palatines more than 200 were killed, and all others 
wounded. But this battle shattered the campaign plans of 
the British completely, and in time brought about Burgoyne's 
surrender at Saratoga. Washington himself stated, that Oris- 
kany was the first glimpse of daylight in the time of darkness. 

A German the Founder of the American Army. 

When the distress of the Americans seemed deepest, when 
Washington, with only a few thousand starving and ill- 
equipped men, had taken refuge in the dreadful winter quar- 
ters at Valley Forge, a man appeared, who proved to be the 
most valuable help, which the colonies received in their 
struggle for freedom. This man was Baron Friedrich 
Wilhelm von Steuben, a distinguished Prussian officer, and 
the former personal aide of Frederick the great. 

The letter, in which he offered his services to Congress, 
is one of the noblest documents of those times. It reads as 
follows: "Honorable Gentlemen? The honor of serving a 
nation, engaged in defending its rights and liberties, was the 
only motive that brought me to this continent. I ask neither 
riches nor titles. I am come here from the remotest end of 
Germany, at my own expense, and have given up honorable 
and lucrative rank. I have made no condition with your 
deputies in France, nor shall I make any with you. My own 
ambition is to serve you as a volunteer, to deserve the con- 

11 



fidence of your general in chief, and to follow him in all his 
operations, as I have done during the seven campaignes with 
the King of Prussia, Two and twenty years spent in such 
a school seem to give me a right of thinking myself among 
the number of experienced officers, and if I am possessed of 
the acquirements in the art of war, they will be more prized 
by me, if I can employ them in the service of a republic such 
as I hope to see America soon. I should willingly purchase 
at the expense of my blood the honor of having my name 
enrolled among those of the defenders of your liberty. Your 
gracious acceptance will be sufficient for me, and I ask no 
other f-avor than to be received among your officers " 

Appointed as the inspector-general of the army, Steuben 
transformed, under unheard-of difficulties, the undisciplined 
American soldiers into an efficient fighting machine. In fact, 
he became the true originator of the army, and if history 
honors Washington as the leading spirit of the war for inde- 
pendence, then Steuben was the strong arm, that enabled 
him to strike, and to lead his troops to victory. 

How much Washington himself appreciated Steuben, 
appears from a letter, the very last document of Washington 
before resigning his commission as Commander-in-Chief of 
the American Army. It reads as follows: 

AnnapoHs, Deer. 23d. 1783. 
"My dear Baron! 

Although I have taken frequent opportunities both in 
public and private, of acknowledging your zeal, attention and 
abilities in performing the duties of your office, yet I wish 
to make use of this last moment of my public life to signify 
in the strongest terms my entire approbation of your conduct, 
and to express my sense of the obligations the public is 
under to you for your faithful and meritorious service. 

I beg you will be convinced, my dear Sir, that I should 
rejoice if it could ever be in my power to serve you more 
essentially than by expressions of regard and affection. But 
in the meantime I am persuaded you will not be displeased 
with this farewell token of my sincere friendship and esteem 
for you. 

This is the last letter I shall ever write while I continue 
in the service of my country. The hour of my resignation 
is fixed at twelve this day, after which I shall become a 
private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, where I shall 
be glad to embrace you, and testify the great esteem and 

12 



consideration, with which I am, my dear Baron, your most 
obedient and affectionate servant 

GEORGE WASHINGTON."*) 

Having given due credit to the noble services of Baron 
von Steuben, it is not more than just, to also remember the 
gallant Major-General Johann von Kalb, a native of Bavaria. 
As the inscription on his monument in front of the military 
academy in Annapolis states, he gave, after having served 
most honorably for three years in the American Army, a last 
noble demonstration of his devotion for the sake of liberty 
and the cause of America, in the battle of Camden, where 
he, leading his soldiers, inspired them by his example to deeds 
of highest bravery. Seriously wounded several times, he 
died on August the 19th, 1780. 

If we study closely the part which the German-Americans 
played in the War for Independence and in all its details, 
it seems doubtful whether this war would have been such 
a wonderful success without the patriotic support of the 
German element. 

The German-Americans During the Wars of the 
19th Century. 

If our "real" Americans, blessed with the Anglo-Saxon or 
the Anglo-American hyphen, would study American history 
more closely, they would also find, that their fellow-citizens 
with German hyphens never failed to demonstrate their loyalty 
toward the land of their choice in all the wars America fought 
in the 19th century. In 1812, after the British had captured 

*) It fell to the lot of Poultney Bigelow, an American Tory, to 
besmirch the memory of Steuben and Washington in the following 
lines, which under the heading "Baron Steuben" appeared in the 
"New York Sun" of May 2, 1915. 

"The famous Steuben obtained his rank in the American Army by 
a pious Prussian fraud. He was only a major out of a job in the land 
of Frederick the Great, and that thrifty monarch took particular 
pleasure in reducing his salary account and at the same time driving 
his supernumerary and least important officers to other armies, where 
they might acquire experience likely to serve his at a later day. 

If my esteemed friend Dr. Kail will do as I did, when permitted 
by the German Emperor to peruse the hundreds of manuscript reports 
of Prussian officers who left Prussia after the Seven Years' War and 
sought fame and food in other armies, he will then realize the agony 
of our great Washington, who spent much of his valuable time in 
settling the petty disputes of alleged patriots who came to him with 
bogus titles to rank, and sought for the triumph of American liberty 
only in so far as a salary followed in its wake. Steuben was a good 
drill sergeant and did good service as such. Had he been more than 
that Frederick the Great would have kept him at home." 

13 



the City of Washington and burned the White House, the 
Capitol and other pubHc buildings, they prepared also for an 
attack on Baltimore. It was then, that in the defense of this 
city, two Americans of German origin took the most prominent 
part. The commander of the militia was General Johann 
Strieker, born in Frederik, Maryland, in 1759. And the com- 
mander of Fort McHenry was Major George Armstadt, 
born in New Market, in 1780, whose parents were Hessians. 
If Armstadt had not held Fort McHenry during the terrific 
bombardment by the British, our national hymn, "The Star 
Spangled Banner," most probably would never have been 
written. 

There is also good reason for doubting, that without the 
help of the 216,000 Germans, born abroad, and the many 
hundred thousands of Americans of German origin, vv^ho 
fought under the colors of the North, from 1861 to 1865, the 
preservation of the Union would have been possible. The 
value of the contingent of the Germans, born abroad, was 
increased by the fact, that large numbers of them, especially 
the officers, of whom there were more than 5,000, had received 
practical training in the war academies and in the armies of 
their fatherland. The participation of so many efficient officers 
and soldiers was of greatest importance to the North, for at 
the outbreak of the war the Confederates had far the greater 
number of officers who had received their training at West 
Point. 

Many of the officers of German birth or origin attained 
the highest military honors. There were more than 80 gen- 
erals and 9 major-generals, among the latter Peter Oster- 
haus, Franz Sigel, August Willich, von Steinwehr and 
Carl Schurz. Five generals, several hundred officers and 
many thousand German soldiers gave up their lives on Amer- 
ican battle fields. 

Among the heroes of our Indian wars, of our wars with 
Mexico and Spain were also many of German stock, as for 
instance the Generals Johann Anton Quitmann, George A. 
Custer, Alexander von Schrader, Theodore Schwan and 
Johann Walter Klaus or Clous, and last but not least — 
Admiral W. S. Schley, the ancestor of whom was a German 
schoolmaster, who immigrated to this country in 1735. 

The Germans in American Politics. 

Many Germans distinguished themselves also in politics. 
Friedrich August Muehlenberg, a son of the above-men- 
tioned minister, was, in 1798, Speaker of the House of Rep- 

14 



resentatives through the first session of Congress. He held 
this office until 1791, and again from 1793 to 1795. There 
were also many able senators, representatives, governors and 
cabinet officers of German birth, among them Carl Schurz, 
who served as Secretary of the Interior under Hayes. It was 
he who was one of the strongest advocates for the abolition 
of slavery, for the institution of civil service, of sound finance 
and the preservation of our forests and other natural resources. 
In several presidential elections the German-Americans 
were the deciding factor. In 1860 they stood almost as a man 
for Lincoln as the opponent of slavery. In 1892 they supported 
Cleveland, as they believed with him that a prohibitive high 
tariff would not be to the interests of the people. And in 
1896 they declared for a gold standard and honorable finance. 

Leaders in Agriculture, Industry and Commerce. 

But the great services the German-Americans have rendered 
this country in war and in politics appear as very little in 
comparison with the enormous good they have accomplished 
in the development of American culture. Shoulder to shoulder 
with their Anglo-Am^erican fellow-citizens, they marched in 
hundreds of thousands into the virgin wildernesses of the 
New World, everywhere transforming the former abodes of 
beasts and Indians into fruitful lands and pleasant homesteads. 
Numerous States, especially Pennsylvania, New York, Mary- 
land, New Jersey, the Virginias, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, California, Oregon, and Wash- 
ington owe their prosperity substantially to the Germans. 
As agriculturists they won the admiration of all their neigh- 
bors. The comparative meagreness of the soil of their father- 
land taught them to take care of their farms in a wise and 
economical way. They never fell into the habit of abusing 
the soil, which, as is seen in the New England States and 
in other parts of the country, results, in time, in soil-exhaus- 
tion and the abandonment of farms. Whoever visits the 
beautiful counties of Pennsylvania, settled by the so-called 
Pennsylvania Dutch, must agree never to have seen farms 
in better condition than those which exist there. And these 
farms are still inhabited by the descendants of the early 
German settlers, who became prosperous through their 
diligence and rational management, 

German skill, genius and enterprise made themselves 
apparent also in the many handicrafts, in commerce and 
industry. Germans established the first type-foundries, glass 
and iron works, powder mills, gun factories, leather and 

15 



chemical industries. Andreas and Anton Klomann are the 

true originators of the Carnegie works and the present United 
States Steel Corporation, with which Henry C. Frick and 
Charles Schwab also became connected. The name of F. 
Augustus Heinze is inseparably connected with the history 
of the American copper industry. Heinrich Wehrum created 
the great Lackawanna Iron and Steel Works at Buffalo and 
Seneca, New York. Johann August Roebling was the father 
of the cable wire spinneries at Trenton, New Jersey. Martin 
Brill in Philadelphia and J. H. Kobusch in St. Louis estab- 
lished the two largest car-factories in America. The five 
brothers Studebaker are the founders of the Studebaker 
Corporation whose extensive and enormous automobile and 
car factories are in South Bend, Ind., and in Detroit. The 
Aultman, Miller & Co., in Canton, Ohio, leading in the man- 
ufacturing of agricultural machines, was organized also by 
a German-American. Peter Pauly organized the Pauly Jail 
Building Company in St. Louis ; F, Niedringhaus the National 
Enameling and Stamping Company at the same place. Johann 
Jacob Astor organized the famous American Fur Company. 
The Havemeyers and Spreckels made themselves the chief 
factors in the American sugar industry. Friedrich Weyer- 
haeuser was universally known as the "lumber king of the 
United States." John Wanamaker, the inventor of the 
department store, and John D. Rockefeller, the master of 
the Standard Oil Company, also claim derivation from 
German ancestors. 

Of German origin are also the American Tobacco Com- 
pany, the American Felt Company, the Globe & Wernicke 
Company, many of our foremost silk factories, worsted mills 
and chemical works. 

In the production of beverages the German-Americans 
take the lead, — especially in the brewing industry, which 
grew to astonishing proportions through their energy. Beer 
had been brewed in America by the Dutch and English 
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In 1810 the 
whole output amounted to 182,000 barrels. This quantity 
increased to 740,000 barrels in 1850. Up to that time the 
brewers, exclusively Anglo-Americans, produced a heavy 
very intoxicating beer similar to the English ale. Instead of 
this the Germans introduced the lagerbeer, which contains 
much less alcohol and for this reason is more suited to the 
American climate. In time it displaced the ale almost entirely. 
Besides this, it helped greatly to lessen the consumption of 
whiskey and other liquors, in which America indulged very 

16 



heavily in former times. And so the claim of our German- 
American brewers, that the introduction of the lagerbeer had 
a benevolent temperate effect upon the population of America, 
is, to some extent, justified. 

To what enormous proportions the brewing industry has 
been developed by the Germans is seen from the fact that 
at present the output of beer amounts to more than 66 million 
barrels per year. This industry employs hundreds of thou- 
sands of men, provides very large revenues to the Govern- 
ment, and yields millions in annual incomes to the farmers 
for their malt, hops and barley. Many of the large breweries, 
as, for instance, the Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis, the Pabst 
and Schlitz breweries in Milwaukee, rank among the indus- 
trial-wonders of America. 

In the production of other food-stuffs the German-Amer- 
icans are in the field also. The H. J. Heinz Company in 
Pittsburgh, is known throughout America for preserved fruits 
and vegetables. We find others in the meat-packing business 
and in the production of oatmeal and other cereals. 

The names of some of our large piano-manufactories show 
how the Germans predominate in this industry. There are 
the Steinway's, the Knabe's, Weber, Lindeman, Kranich 
& Bach, Steck & Co., Wissner, Sohmer and many others. 

In engineering Johann August Roebling made himself 
famous by his daring suspension bridges across the Niagara, 
the Ohio, and the East River between New York and Brook- 
lyn. One of the m^ost successful engineers of the present 
times is Gustav Lindenthal, who constructed among other 
great works the new railway-bridge across the Hellgate 
between New York and Long Island. Gindele constructed 
the enormous tunnel that provides Chicago with fresh water 
from Lake Michigan. He also made the canal which connects 
the lake with the Mississippi. Sutro planned the famous 
tunnels in the Comstock mines of Nevada ; Carl Conrad 
Schneider the cantilever bridges across the Niagara, and 
the Fraser River in British Columbia; Hermann Schuessler 
the great water-works of San Francisco. 

Among our electricians the Silesian Carl Steinmetz, con- 
sulting electrician of the General Electric Works in Schenec- 
tady, New York, holds the first place. When the president 
of Harvard University conferred the degree of master of arts 
upon Steinmetz some years ago, he did it with the words : 
"I confer this degree upon you as the foremost electrical 
engineer of the United States, and, therefore, of the world." 

17 



The German-American in Science and Arts. 

To give an idea of the great influence the Germans exerted 
upon the scientific and ethical life of America is almost 
impossible. Scarcely a university exists that does not reflect 
German ideas in its methods and institutions. At many of 
these seats of learning German scholars of the highest stan- 
dard have been teaching. Many of these, as, for instance, 
Franz Lieber, Eduard von Hoist, Rudolf Agassiz, Albert 
Gatschet, Franz Boas, Kuno Francke, Hugo Muenster- 
berg, and many others, have won international fame by their 
excellent works. 

To write a history of American art would be impossible 
without giving credit to the painters Emanuel Leutze, Albert 
Bierstadt, Carl Wimar, Toby Rosenthal, Henry Twacht- 
mann, Henry Mosler, F. Dielraan, Robert Blum, Gari 
Melchers, Karl Marr and Charles Schreyvogel, and to the 
sculptors Charles Niehaus, Karl Bitter, Joseph Sibbel, 
Albert Weinmann, Otto Sch\veizer, Albert Jaegers and 
F. W. Ruckstuhl. Among the distinguished architects of 
America Johannes Smithmeyer of Vienna and Paul J. Pelz 
of Silesia are famous as the designers of the Congressional 
Library, the most beautiful building in America. Hornbostel, 
Alfred Clas, H. C. Koch, Ernst Helffenstein, G. L. Heins, 
Carl Link, Otto Eidlitz rank also among the best architects 
America has produced. 

A wonderful influence was exerted by the Germans through 
thei. song and music. When the pious German sectarians 
immigrated into the colonies they brought with them the 
hymns of the Reformation, and the great symphonies of 
Haydn, Haendel, Bach and Mozart. When these works were 
first heard in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and in New England, 
they made a deep impression upon the Americans. Musical 
societies, of which the Philharmonic Society of New York 
and the Boston Symphonic Orchestra became the most fam.- 
ous, sprang into existence everywhere. Through Theodore 
Thomas, Karl Zerrahn, Wilhelm Gericke, the Damroschs, 
Anton Seidel, Franz van der Stucken, Emil Paur and 
other brilliant leaders, the Americans also became acquainted 
with the wonderful compositions of Beethoven, Schumann, 
Brahms and Wagner. They were greeted with enthusiasm. 
Following the example of the German singing societies, 
countless Anglo-American societies exist in our country now, 
which rival each other in trying to reproduce the compositions 
of the greatest masters in their highest perfection. 

18 



In our appreciation of the German element we must not 
forget to mention its many benevolent institutions. There are 
numerous societies for the protection and welfare of immi- 
grants. The most noteworthy of these is the Legal Aid 
Society of New York, which has, during the 40 years of its 
existence, helped many hundred thousand persons to their 
rights, without considering their nationalities. It collected 
for them, free of cost, several million dollars. On account 
of the great amount of good accomplished by this society it 
became the model for numerous similar institutions in Amer- 
ica as well as abroad. 

The National German-American Alliance and 
Her Purpose. 

The facts outlined above indicate only a very small fraction 
of the enormous mass of work that has been done by the 
Germans in the United States. Its magnitude is the more 
astonishing, as the Germ»an-Americans, up to the end of the 
nineteenth century, never formed a unit having in view mutual 
aims. They were, as has been said, an army of splendid 
soldiers, but without officers. The beginning of this century, 
however, brought decisive changes. The great advantage of 
centralization had become too apparent everywhere to escape 
the attention of our German-Americans, and so a small number 
of representative Germans of several States assembled in 
Philadelphia and organized the National German-American 
Alliance, on October 6, 1901, not to form a State within 
the States, but to consolidate the enormous forces of the 
German-American population for tbe sole purpose of 
promoting everything that is good in German character 
and culture and that might be to the benefit and wel- 
fare of the w^hole American nation. That this was a step 
in the right direction and that it foimd the hearty endorsement 
of the whole German-American population, may be seen from 
the rapid increase of the league. Within the fourteen years 
of its existence it has spread, under the able leadership of its 
president. Dr. Charles J. Hexamer of Philadelphia, over 
almost all States, and has now more than two million members, 
members. 

The powerful impulse caused by the founding and growth 
of this league gave birth to many movements of similar 
character. In accordance with the suggestions of renowned 
American professors who had studied in Germany and there 
gained a knowledge of the magnitude and beauty of German 
culture, several American universities founded Germanistic 
Societies for the purpose of promoting German literature and 

19 



science. Harvard University established a Germanic museum, 
that shows in casts, paintings, photographs and facsimile 
reproductions almost everything that Germany has produced 
in great works of art, poetry and science during the past. 
But the greatest of all propositions was made by Professor 
Kuno Francke of Harvard. He suggested a regular exchange 
of professors between American and German universities in 
order to establish a stronger contact of thoughts and ic^^as 
between these two great countries. This innovation later 
on was extended to include professors of other nation- 
alities also, and will do much to bring about a better- 
understanding among the different nations of the world. 



Contrasting Sympathies. 

Our brief sketch of the history of the Germans in America 
shows to evidence, that they have at all times striven, worked, 
battled and bled for the welfare of their adopted country. 
They belong to the most orderly, law-abiding, sober, thrifty 
and industrious citizens. None of the various elements of 
our complex population can boast of a better record. And 
American ideals will never have stronger and more enthusi- 
astic si'pporters than they. 

In view of these facts it is strange, that President Wilson, 
who claims to be an historian, has thought it necessary every 
little while, to' lecture the German-Americans on patriotism. 
As the author of "A History of the American People" he 
ought to know better, and should direct his lectures much 
more to himself, to his boisterous predecessor, and to 
those hyphenates, who, not thinking of ^'America first," 
but of England, are plotting to drag our country into 
the European w^ar in the interest of Great Britain. 

The unquestionable loyalty of the German-Americans 
toward the land of their adoption does, however, not compel 
them to renounce the memories of their native land. As free 
speech is one of the incontestable rights of American citizens, 
so everyone has the right to lend his sympathy to any cause 
or any country that may appeal to his heart or conscience. 
Just as in the present war the sympathies of the Anglo- 
Americans incline to the foes of Germany, just as President 

20 



Wilson himself has, in speeches as well as by his acts, mani- 
fested his preference for "that single little island" across 
the ocean, so the sympathies of the German-Americans go 
most naturally to that people, whose blood flows in their own 
veins, whose culture is theirs, whose cause they believe just, 
and which carries on such a noble fight for existence and for 
the freedom of the seas. 

I>; one has any right to blame the German-Americans for 
these sympathies. The last of all those dishonest Americans, 
v/ho in their insatiable thirst for money not only furnish arms 
and supplies to the Allies, but provide them also with funds, 
with which to pay. 

Many Americans of German stock as well as of other origin 
have, since the outbreak of the European war, become ashamed 
of the conduct of their adopted country, which they love and 
which they wish to see without blemish. They are humiliated, 
that this country is ruled by unscrupulous money lenders 
and greedy monopolists, making blood-stained dollars out 
of Europe's agony and death. They are grieved, that public 
opinion in the United States is dominated by an un-American 
press, which instead of giving their readers the truth, regales 
them with bogus stories, and applauds and glorifies nations, 
that arm the cannibal savages of the Senegal, the Congo, the 
Niger, the Himalaya Mountains and the Fiji Islands, to 
destroy the lands and lives of Europe's civilized peoples. 

To the large numbers of American citizens, who are morti- 
fied by the disgrace of their country of adoption, the author 
of this pamphlet belongs also. There was a time, when he 
was proud to proclaim to his countrymen abroad the beauty 
of American scenery, the glory of American history, and the 
richness and vigour of American life. He was an admirer of 
Theodore Roosevelt and delivered in many German cities 
lectures in his praise. Now the former idol lies shattered on 
the ground; the lecture has been torn, and its author is almost 
persuaded to believe, that the great efforts of his life, namely 
the promotion of friendly relations between the United States 
and Germany, have been futile. 

There are two ugly stains on the bright escutcheon of 
America. The one recalls the times, when our Congress and 
Government permitted the sister republics of the Boers to be 
strangled by the British and Zulu. The other, of later date, 
appeared, when America lent, as a silent ally of the Allies, 
her support for the destruction of that nation, which, since 
the bright sun of independence rose over America, had been 
the truest and most reliable friend of the United States. 

21 



When the War is Over. 

There are many who believe that the one-sided neutrahty 
of our Government will seriously affect all further relations 
between the United States and Germany. The former friend- 
ship of the German nation toward America will change into 
cold reserve, if not contempt. While Germany was the 
second-best customer of the United States, having bought 
$344,795,276 worth of goods in 1914, she will henceforth buy 
her supplies from those nations, which, during her struggle 
for existence, observed true neutrality and acted as real 
friends. The loss the commerce of the United States may 
suffer hereby, will in time surpass the gain, our Morgans, 
Schwabs and other gentlemen of similar character may net 
from their bloody traffic in arms and ammunition. 

There will also come another serious loss. German immi- 
gration, having decreased steadily from 250,000 persons in 
1882 to 35,000 in 1914, will go down tremendously or may 
stop altogether, as Germany, deprived by the war of so many 
useful men, guarantees for a long time far better prospects 
to intelligent and industrious people, than America can offer. 

It is expected also, that large numbers of German-Amer- 
icans, disgusted with the conduct of our Government and 
our press, will renounce their citizenship and return to 
Germany, where they will be welcomed with open arms. 

While losing these elements, which, since the days of John 
Smith and George Washington, had been appreciated as 
belonging to the most valuable additions to our population, 
the influx of such immigrants will increase, which, on account 
of their inferior standard of life, lack of education, poverty 
and inclination to crimes have been regarded as "undesirable 
elements." These changes in the composition of our popula- 
tion will most probably mean for the United States an increase 
in corruption and crimes. 

It is evident that the losses of our country will be heavy 
and manifold. But these losses are self-incurred, as our 
Government, instead of giving to the world a shining example 
of true neutrality, made itself a partisan to Great Britain, 
the destroyer of nations, injuring herewith not only the 
standing, welfare and future of many millions of her own 
citizens, but impairing also the peace and the continuation 
of the whole country. 



22 



READER ! 

If you are interested in the PEACE AND 
WELFARE OF OUR COMMON COUNTRY, 
if you believe in its motto: "E PLURIBUS 
UNUM", then distribute this pamphlet among 
those of your fellow-citizens, whose minds have 
been tainted with race prejudice and hatred by 
our un-American Press. 



W^4 



OR 



"w" - 


















; ^^-^ ^jt 






» • o^ ^ 








./:.•.; 



hO' 










.%^^.^:^^f% 













y^^. 






'f'/ ^ 

-^0^ 



, /: /^ • 







"o V^ 









^. -(J 




..•«- 















